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Hera
Hera is the only Greek Goddess of Women and Marriage. She is one of the three sisters and the wife of Zeus, and is therefore the Queen of the Greek Gods. She is very jealous of Zeus's lovers, and angry about the fact that he had children without her. She especially loathes husband's son, Heracles. She wanted to give Zeus "a taste of his own medicine", so she tried to have a baby on her own, but her child was born ugly. She was not impressed, and so she threw the child from the top of Olympus. He was raised by Thetis and Amphitrite and became the lame god of smiths, Hephaestus. Hera is loyal and wise, if you help her. She is a very proud goddess, but she will do anything to get her way. And while she is the goddess of marriage, she ironically made Heracles kill his wife. The only children she ever had with Zeus were Ares, Hebe, Eris, and Eileithyia. Her Roman counterpart is Juno. In Rome, the month June was made in honor of Juno/Hera. In Mythology Hera can generally be known for her anger and jealousy towards the children Zeus had with other women. This is seen is multiple cases, such as when she made Heracles go mad and kill his wife and children. She can, however, be helpful; this can be seen with her aiding Jason. She can be seen in some cases as being vain; for instance, she was deeply offended when Paris, a prince of Troy, chose Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess rather than her. Hera is believed to rule Olympus in her husband's stead, when he is gone. The cow and the peacock were known to be sacred to her. Hera's mother was Rhea and her father was Cronus. She once cursed a goddess named Leto, (whom Zeus impregnated), so that she would never be able to give birth on land, or any island at sea. But Poseidon took pity on her and allowed her to give birth to the gods Apollo and Artemis on a floating island he raised from the depths of the ocean, called Delos, which became a sacred place, particularly for Apollo. Another story of her jealousy is that of how she dealt with Semele, daughter of Cadmus, King of Thebes. Upon learning that Semele was pregnant with Zeus's child, Hera disguised herself as Semele's nurse and convinced the princess to insist that Zeus show himself to her in his true form. When Zeus did so, his lightning involuntarily blasted her. Hera almost caught Zeus with a mistress named Io once, but Zeus avoided her learning of his affair by turning Io into a beautiful white cow. However, Hera was still wary of Zeus, and she demanded that he give her the heifer as a gift. Zeus gave up Io to Hera, and Hera in turn put the cow in the keeping of Argus, whom she commanded to keep Io away from Zeus. Zeus then commanded Hermes to kill Argus, which he did. Zeus wasn't able to get back to Io, however; Hera drove her out of Greece and she ended up in Egypt and became worshipped as Isis. Debate Some people argue that she is the oldest daughter of Cronus, while others claim she is the youngest, and Zeus's twin. In some versions of the story of her life, she was raised by Oceanus and Tethys in secret before the rest of her siblings defeated their father. Epithets Like most of the major gods, Hera was given epithets to reflect patronage in a certain area or field. *Hera Gamelia - Hera of Marriage *Hera Heniokhe - Hera of the Chariot *Hera Antheia - Hera of the Flowers *Hera Hyperkheireia - Hera, Whose Hand is Above *Hera Nympheuomene - Hera the Betrothed *Hera Chera - Hera the Widowed *Hera Basileia - Hera the Queen *Hera Boopis - Hera the Cow-Eyed Family Immortal Offspring With Zeus *Eileithyia *Hebe *Ares *Eris *Hephaestus, sometimes considered born by Parthenogenesis See Also * Twelve Olympians * Juno External Links *Hera at Wikipedia Gallery Hera.jpg Hera by Genzoman.jpg References * Hamilton, Edith (1998), Mythology, Back Bay Books, New York, ISBN 0-316-34151-7 ru:Гера ja:ヘラ Category:Greek goddesses Category:Gods of Women Category:Gods of Marriage Category:Stubs Category:Twelve Olympians Category:Kings/Queens of the Gods Category:Olympian Gods Category:Women in Greek Mythology Category:Greek mythology